The Sign of Uncertainty
by Anne335
Summary: When the reading and filming of season 4 begins, two people are forced to face each other again. It is the start of some very tense conversations and situations.
1. Chapter 1

_I want to note that English is not my native language, so please go easy on me :) Also do I not own the characters, names and whatever that are mentioned below._

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Ben stepped off his motorcycle. He stopped the engine from running, locked it, and took off the helmet that was a bit too small for his long face. He looked to the entrance of the building where they would start within fifteen minute with the script readings for season 4 of 'Sherlock'. People walked in and out. It was quite the anonymous place to start with such a long expected thing, but anonymity was all Steven and Mark wanted. Now it was quiet and there were no people photographing them, but within a few months he knew that that would be different, when they would be filming on set. He walked to the entrance, nodded to one of the people rushing out of the building and stepped inside. From the outside it looked dull, but from the inside it was very open; light came in trough numerous windows, and it lightened up the whole gloomy exterior of the lobby. He asked the receptionist where in this building he was expected ("3th floor, the first door on your right"), and walked towards the elevator. Once it's door opened, he stepped inside and pushed the button of the 3th floor. The doors closed, and he looked at his watch. He was running late. He needed to change in normal clothes before he permitted himself to attend the whole reading session. The elevator gave a loud 'ping' and Ben stepped out. He rushed into the bathroom that he noticed on his left, and changed his motorcycle suit for something more comfortable. He was about to step out when the door opened and Martin came in.  
"Once late, always late" he noted.  
"Thank you, and a happy new year to you too!" Ben answered with a smile. Martin looked up at him and started laughing.  
"What is it with you and begin late, but not too late?! If I come in late, they threaten to cut my salary. Not that that is such a bad idea, but still…"  
"It has everything to do with the way you react, you know" Ben answered. "First you need to look as if you have done absolutely anything that was in your power to try to be in time. Second thing is that when they have accepted that, you can come up with anything you want to say or do." He told Martin. "Oh, and third and most important: you have to look like me!"  
"That's not the biggest problem. Maybe it's my length that does something to my amazing imitation of you…" he answered. "But what I do know is that if we do not return right now, they WILL make cuts in our salary!" and with that he turned on the spot and walked out of the door.  
Ben followed him with amusement. He couldn't have wished for another person than Martin to be his co-star. It was always fun with him around. He crossed the hallway and stepped through the door he was supposed to have taken right after he stepped out of the elevator. He wasn't wholly trough it when he stopped mid track. The one person he had not expected to be here was staring at him with magnificent blue eyes and a fading laugh still on her face, probably from something the person next to her had said before he had stepped in. How could he have been so stupid not to read the scripts first, before he went here. He had absentmindedly browsed through them and this one major thing he had apparently missed.  
He murmured a "Happy New Year" to everyone present, and took his place next to Martin. He felled he was blushing. Steven started to welcome them, wishing them all a happy new year. Ben didn't get much of what was said. He tried to remember what it was he had missed. He knew for certain that it was probably mentioned when they had gotten their scripts. He looked up to Steven, who was still filling them in in what they would do for the next three days. Ben didn't want to look to his right, because he knew that he would not stop blushing if he did. 'Shocked' was not the right word, but it was something similar that was getting to him. He tried to get his attention to Steven once more, so that he wouldn't miss other perhaps important things.  
"We also like to welcome back Lara, who was so kind to accept a plea from Mark and me to please come back and play this fantastic role of Irene Adler. This time, Lara, I promise that you can keep your clothes on!" he said to her.  
Everyone laughed. Ben tried, but it was no more than a smile that wandered off too quickly for his liking. He now took a glimpse at her. She looked good. Not as exhausted as the last time he had seen her. The simple blue t-shirt she was wearing complimented her figure, and the dark curls that danced around her head and shoulders fell perfectly in line with the movement of her head. The last time he had seen her she was tired, not in the mood for a good talk and it had been him that she wished not to see. But of all people, he was the only one around. It had been very awkward, and Ben felt the tension in his stomach when he thought about it. He looked at her again. Yes, she definitely looked better than the last time. There was more colour in her face and she was not trying too hard to smile. She just smiled, because she was genuinely enjoying herself, it seemed. He opened the script that lay before him, and started flipping through it. He did not know what he was reading. The only thing that was on his mind was that awkward moment and the accessory knot in his stomach. It had been his fault that is had come to that. He felt a sharp pain in his ribs. He looked up, startled, and noticed everybody looking at him.  
"Sorry, what is it you said?" he asked Steven.  
"Welcome in this room Ben. I was wondering if you would do me the honour of starting with reading?" the latter answered. Ben flipped back to the beginning of the script that was before him.  
"Sure. Do I have to read the descriptions as well, or is it just about the lines?"  
"Lines. I presume that everyone has read the descriptions before they got here…" Steven looked at Ben with a knowing look in his eyes. Ben looked away quickly and started reading.

As the time passed, he felt himself becoming more and more Sherlock. When they had done the first 25 scenes Steven cut in.  
"Right, ladies and gentlemen. I think it's time for some coffee and tea. On you go!". Ben looked across the table to Lara, but she had already stood up and walked out of the room. Ben stood up as well, and made a move to walk into the same direction Lara had disappeared, but was stopped by Mark.  
"Ben, if you have a minute?" he asked, and gestured towards the seat he had just stood up from. Ben sat down with a sigh. He locked eyes with Martin and mimicked him to not wait for him. When the room was empty Mark started speaking again.  
"Listen, I don't know what has happened between you and Lara, but please, for the sake of everything, put it aside". Ben looked up abruptly.  
"I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you're talking about…" he tried, but he knew that almost everybody in the room had seen his shocked face when he had noticed her sitting at the table.  
"Ben, come on. Like I said, I have no idea what is going on or what happened, but I need to know that when the cameras are rolling you two can come up with that beautiful chemistry again. I don't want two people trying too hard. It is something naturel. That's what Steven and I have based the scripts on! You don't have to tell me, or explain anything, but just make sure that when someone yells "Action!" there is something to look at…". Ben thought about it for a moment.  
"Mark, I can guaranty you that when someone yells "Action!" I will do my very best to act the hell out of your beautifully written script. Just trust me in this, OK?" Mark nodded.  
"Well, come on then. The tea is waiting…" he replied with some uncertainty in his voice.

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 _It will continue_ :)


	2. Chapter 2

_Again, I do not own anything_

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Lara walked out of the elevator and turned right. She opened the door and stepped into the room. Before she could take a good look at the interior something moved to her very quickly, and before she knew it she was caught in a very tight embrace.  
"God, Lara! It's so good to see you! Wow, it's been like forever!" came a voice from somewhere behind her right ear. She recognised it as Lou's, and hugged her back.  
"Haha, Louise! It's good to see you too! Little bit less pressure would be welcome, 'cause I'm not getting enough air…" Lara responded. Lou let go of her, and chuckled. Lara could finally see who else was already present. She got a warm welcome from almost everyone (Martin was overjoyed and kept talking about her performance a few years ago to everyone who hadn't been present at the time, Mark and Steven shacked her hand enthusiastically, and Una hugged her like she had been the long lost daughter), and the ones she didn't know introduced themselves as if they knew everything about her. She noticed that the man that ought to have been there already wasn't there. She glimpsed around the room, but she saw no sign of Benedict whatsoever. Clearly he was running late again. The positive thing about it was that there would be no awkward Happy-New-Year-wishes and things like that. She saw Lou, who had already picked a seat, waving dramatically at her. Lara understood the sing language and walked around the table to sit beside her.  
"Wow, it has been really long since we saw each other, ye know!" Lou started, "I was starting to worry about the health of your phone battery!" Lara laughed.  
"I'm sorry, but I've been so busy with project and things! That whole 'Gypsy'-thing took away some valued spare time-"  
"Don't start apologizing, you!" Lou said with a laugh, "It's OK. I've been rather busy myself. For example there are a LOT of people who suddenly recognize me in the streets. Have you seen my fingers?! They're bruised from signing photographs and holding phones and camera's!" Lara laughed really hard at this. She loved the way Lou could exaggerate things like these. Everyone was now starting to sit down around the table. In a rush she saw Martin and someone else entering the room. She looked up, and stared into the two eyes she had wished to avoid until they started filming. She felt the laugh gliding from her face, and quickly looked away. He had stopped mid track in his steps, and had also blushed very hard. Great, this couldn't have gotten any worse. She liked it when he started blushing. She heard him murmuring something that came close to "Everyone a happy new year", and saw him, from the corners of her eyes, sitting next to Martin. She heard Steven welcoming everyone, and specially welcomed her.  
"This time, Lara, I promise that you can keep your clothes on!" he said to her. She laughed with the rest of the group. She glimpsed at Ben and saw him grimacing. Steven asked them to open the first script, and started making some notes of things that had already changed. She liked the way Steven could be very chaotic. She knew that the script that she was holding in her hands couldn't be more than four weeks old, but already Mark and Steven had come up with something that would (or wouldn't) benefit the storyline. Lou made a sad face when she heard that a scene where she would have been present was changed, and she wouldn't be there anymore. Lara laughed. She started to enjoy herself again. She liked the people that were part of the team. It was like one big family, and nobody had any secrets. Only that wasn't quite true. She did have something she had never spoken off with anyone from the team. Except Ben. But he was the course of what she didn't want to talk about with anyone, so she counted him out. She looked back at her script, and saw that someone had drawn a smiley in the top right corner. She smiled again; she knew that Lou had done it. It made the thoughts about the awkward moment she had last seen Ben go away. She felt that he was looking at her, but decided to ignore him.  
"Ben, I would like you to start from the beginning with reading. Everyone does their own character. Y' all know the drill." Steven said. There came no reaction from the other side of the table. Lara looked at Ben, and at the same time Martin planted his elbow between the ribs of his neighbour. Ben looked up, shocked again it seemed. Lara wondered what it was that kept him from fully participating. She knew that she could easily guess it, but she suppressed the thought.  
"Sorry, what is it you said?" he asked Steven.  
"Welcome in this room Ben. I was wondering if you would do me the honour of starting with reading?" the latter answered. Ben flipped back to the beginning of the script that was before him.  
"Sure. Do I have to read the descriptions as well, or is it just about the lines?"  
"Lines. I presume that everyone has read the descriptions before they got here…" Steven asked with a knowing look in his eyes. Lara looked at Ben, who tried to hide the guilty look on his face. He started blushing again. Good God, he really needed to stop doing that! Ben started reading, and as the time passed, she noticed that he came more and more into the role of the clever detective with the funny hat. She didn't have lines in this part of the script, later on there would be a few lines, so for now she enjoyed the dynamic conversations between almost everyone at the table. After 25 scenes Steven called for a pause. She longed for some hot tea and chattering with her colleagues. She stood up from her seat and accompanied Lou out of the room. The only one that didn't move was Ben, clearly lost in thoughts again. She sighed and took Lou by the arm. In the doorframe she looked around to see if Ben already had started to move, but he was still seated and now Mark was sitting opposite of him. She walked away with Lou, and they joined the others in another room with comfortable looking sofa's and seats. She grabbed two cups of tea for herself and Lou, and walked to the corner where the latter had found two empty seats. "So, you're going tell me about mister Cucumber and the fact that he turned fifty shades of red before sitting down and paying attention to everything Steven was saying; all seemingly caused by one glimpse at you?" she fired away in a soft tone. Lara felt her face getting red.  
"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about" she tried, but she knew that it was meaningless.  
"Come on, I'm not blind. You can think yourself lucky, because if Amanda would've been here today the whole room had known. If they didn't notice already…" Lou added in a thoughtful tone. Lara didn't answer but instead started nipping from her tea. She cursed the person responsible for serving it so hot. Lou understood the sign of ignoring that Lara gave her, and started nipping on her tea as well. They were halfway through their tea when Lou started mimicking to Lara that someone was coming. Lara sighed and acted as if she didn't knew.  
"Ladies, a happy new year to you too" a deep voice said.  
"Thank you! You too, Ben. That is may be a beautiful year with a lot of happy thoughts and awesome reviews!" Lou said in an enthusiastic tone. "Oh gosh, this is amazing tea! I'm gonna get some more. You want another cup too?" she asked Lara. Lara was too preoccupied with her thoughts, and did only notice that it was too late to keep Lou from letting her alone with Ben when she felt the half empty cup being taken from her hands. She did her best to look at her as filthy as she could, and then turned around to face the man she had wished to avoid before they started filming.

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 _Yeah, it will continue once I've found some inspiration..._


End file.
